Absolver – How To Improve Your Combat Rank

In addition to standard XP-based character leveling and ranking up within a school, Sloclap’s martial arts game Absolver contains a third type of progression: Combat Rank.

Unlike standard character leveling, your Combat Rank in Absolver can only be improved when playing online, which is a bit of a bummer since, in multiple way, it directly affects PvE play.

Forged in the Fires of Combat

For the time being, the only way you can improve your Combat Rank in Absolver is by participating in structured PvP matches which can be accessed from the pause/altar menu (random outdoor “World PvP” bouts don’t grant any Combat Rank points). You can earn up to three Combat Rank points per match (one for simply participating, one for performing well, and one for winning the match), and your Combat Rank goes up for every five points you obtain.

Every time you reach a new Combat Rank, you’ll be granted a random piece of wearable gear (some gear pieces, particularly masks, can only be obtained in this manner), and reaching specific Combat Ranks also unlocks new gameplay features. More specifically, reaching Combat Rank 50 allows you to create your own school, reaching Combat Rank 100 grants an achievement/trophy, and you can also unlock higher difficulty versions of the game’s story campaign boss fights by reaching the following Combat Ranks:

Kuretz

Difficulty 2 unlocked at Combat Rank 10.

Difficulty 3 unlocked at Combat Rank 40.

Calga and Kilnor

Difficulty 2 unlocked at Combat Rank 20.

Difficulty 3 Unlocked at Combat Rank 50.

Risryn

Difficulty 2 unlocked at Combat Rank 30.

Difficulty 3 unlocked at Combat Rank 60.

This means that you’ll unlock access to a new boss fight tier for every ten Combat Ranks you obtain, making the Combat Rank PvP grind just a little bit more worth it if you want to challenge the bosses at their higher difficulty tiers and unlock their unique gear pieces by defeating them at those tiers.

Many Steps to Climb

How quickly you move up through the various Combat Ranks directly correlates to how well you do in the many PvP matches you will inevitably have to queue up for, so keep that in mind if you do decide to embark on the Combat Rank climb.

Of course, holding off on that climb until Sloclap implements additional PvP modes (such as the promised 3v3 mode) or maybe even additional methods of earning Combat Rank points can make the grind a little bit easier, but if you don’t mind slogging through a bunch of 1v1 matches, there are more than a few rewards to be had.